Top 20 Revealed - 2/28/13

Hello everyone. As posted for the title our top 20 who will be in the voting rounds next week have been revealed. However before we get to that point of the show our last remaining ten guys performed. As you all know this has been my top favorite reality show for years but sadly on this season no one and I mean no one excites me enough to want to pick up the phone and vote for them. I was so bored listening to the constant ballads our contestants sang during this last segment trying to make the top 20. I honestly believe the judges and Nigel Lythgoe have destroyed this season with putting subpar performers in with the hopes that a girl will win this year. Sadly though I am not too thrilled with most of the girl contestants either. I see some potentials but doubt I will vote.

Anyhow, let me get to the show. Our judges are introduced. One thing I have to post is what the heck is wrong with Nicki Minaj? Is she on the make or what? Seems she is constantly trying to get chummy with one of the guys. With one contestant last night her first question was "is he single". He isn't as he is married and I noticed once she found this out, she started tearing his performance apart. Jeesh, what a huge mistake having her on this show.

Now for the performances........

26 year old Mathanee Treco is up first with his version of "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley. Kind of an odd choice for this guy who actually likes classic rock and hip hop. It was basically just okay although I did like his last note. Keith Urban recognizes his huge powerful voice with alot of range however he did feel the entertainment factor of this performance over-shadowed that. Nicki Minaj the idiot thinks this was not current and kind of cheesy. Randy Jackson flat out says it was the wrong song choice. Mariah agrees and admits she did not feel connected to him as a singer.

Gurpreet Singh Sarin is 22 years old and has the nickname "The Turbanator" because he always wears a turban. He gives us a boring rendition to the song "Nothing Ever Hurt Like You" originally by James Morrison. This was so bland I nearly fell asleep. Keith likes his voice but not the song choice. Nicki agrees the song was all wrong. Randy calls it terrible. Mariah is disappointed because she felt when playing his guitar in the past he showed a more intimate side of himself.

Vincent Powell is 29 years old and a worship leader by trade. This man does show lots of range as he performs the Lenny Williams song "Cause I Love You". It was very impressive when he held that long note towards the end of the song. He is one of my potentials. Keith, Randy and Mariah give him a standing ovation with great comments to boot. Nicki thinks he is a good, sexy, old-fashion singer and feels the older women voters will be tossing their panties at him.

Sadly I was disappointed with the performance of Nick Boddington who is a bartender by trade. Up until now I had high hopes for this 27 year old guy. However his take on the James Morrison song "Say Something" was boring and definitely the wrong song choice in my opinion. Keith was not overly impressed either but does mention the timber of his voice which he has loved. Nicki says she loves his voice but this was not his best. Randy and Mariah pretty much agree with that comment.

24 year old Josh Holiday takes a real risk by playing the piano and singing an original song he wrote. I really like this guy's voice but felt the song was just okay. Keith felt he was too controlled in the performance and wanted him to do more. Both Nicki and Mariah felt he should have stayed at the piano instead of getting up halfway through the song. Mariah add that she appreciated that Josh was a singer/songwriter. Randy liked the song but overall was not wowed with the performance.

David Oliver Willes is the 22 year old guy that Nicki rips apart when she finds out he is married. I thought his rendition of the song "Fever" while playing the guitar was sort of unique since I have never heard this song played with a guitar. His voice was nice to my ears. Keith felt it was the wrong song but does like his soulful voice. Randy liked that David showed a bluesy side and Mariah felt intrigued.

Bryant Tadeo is 23 years old and hails from Hawaii. He opts to sing "New York State of Mind". He does have a nice voice and the performance was fairly good. Keith loves his beautiful voice and feels he connected to the song. Nicki only liked the falsetto part but not the rest of it. Randy loved the beginning but feels Bryant never had what he calls a moment. Mariah feels he sounded professional in the beginning.

19 year old Burnell Taylor has had issues to deal with in his past. His home was destroyed by hurricane Katrina and he has also lost 40 pounds. His family is slowly re-building their home. My problem with this guy was he came out looking like a total nerd and I felt he gave a boring performance to the John Legend song "This Time". The judges however thought he was great. Keith liked the performance. Nicki the idiot says she would pay to hear him sing. Randy and Mariah thought he was captivating. I must be on another planet as I would not pay one penny for this kind of performance.

Lazaro Arbos is 21 years old and suffers from a terrible stutter. However this is not noticeable as he performs "Tonight I Wanna Cry" by Keith Urban. You could tell Lazaro was nervous by the sweat on his forehead and sort of a shaky performance although parts of it sounded sweet. Keith thinks Lazaro is a great singer but should not have done this song. Nicki feels Lazaro played it safe. Randy thinks the chorus was sweet. Mariah could tell that Lazaro was emotional before he sang but overall likes him.

Last to perform is 22 year old Cortez Shaw. This guy is really cute however I was not blown away with his performance of the song "Titanium" originally by David Guetta and Sia. Keith felt it was a brave move to do this song and liked his powerful notes. Nicki says she likes him alot. Randy mentions a few pitch notes but also says he likes his range. Mariah approved of his song choice.

Now for the results of tonight's performances; Vincent Powell, Lazaro Arbos, Cortez Shaw, Burnell Taylor and Nick Boddington are safe. This means that David Oliver Willis, Bryant Tadeo, Mathnee Treco, Josh Holiday and Gurpreet Singh Sarin have been cut from the competition. Honestly I feel they should have kept David Oliver Willis and Josh Holiday for being original.

As mentioned before I doubt I will be voting but maybe one of my potentials will surprise me. Next week the show will be on three nights. On Tuesday the top 10 girls will perform. On Wednesday the top 10 guys will perform. On the Thursday show we will get down to our top 10 contestants based on the voting public. At least the dumb judges will not be able to decide who stays and who goes. Hopefully the voters will get it right if anyone is even interested in watching this show. I'm reading on the internet that many are done with this show so who knows what will happen.

I must now wrap this up and will be be back next week with how the three nights worked out. Until then have a great week ahead.

.......with you Crystal. I have not been excited by anyone this season. I know part of it is that I'm not watching it as I used to during past seasons. Usually by now I have at least two or three favorites. But I have none. Zip, zilch, nada, nothing. The contestants have been so boring that I go watch other programs. Then I will check back just to see what happened if anything. It's sad too because I really do like Keith and Mariah at the judging table with Randy.

I still like reading your recaps so keep them coming. I will continue to try getting here more often. *sigh*